Here’s the message: Racist comments never acceptable

A message left by accident on the voicemail of a planning official of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe exposes a shocking level of ignorance and racism.

The incident occurred May 20, when Kirk Shewchuck, chief financial officer with Lansing-based telecommunications firm ACD.net, called Tribal Planning Engineer Donald Seal. ACD.net wants to put a cell-phone tower on some land that is held in trust by the Tribe.

Shewchuck apparently did not hang up his phone properly, and a conversation between him and others in the room was recorded as part of the voicemail. The conversation includes phrases such as “f……. Indians,” and someone says they should “sic” the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe on the Chippewas. They also speculate that they could interrupt cell phone service at the casino.

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It is a sad example of the way some people talk when they think no one is listening.

Perhaps most disturbing is the company had no reason to have a complaint with the Tribe. This was just old-fashioned stereotyping and belittling.

Instead of treating the Tribe as an entity that their company had to do business with, the same as they would a city or township government, the group in the ACD room focused on the fact they were Indians. And not just any Indians, but Indians with power and clout.

At Central Michigan University, where the mascot is still the Chippewas, the Tribe and university officials have worked together to educate students on the history and culture of the Tribe. The Tribe supports the use of the mascot as long as it a symbol of respect.

The group in the ACD room, unaware of all that, apparently references another mascot controversy and rants about “the red man.” What they were really doing in that case is making fun of Native Americans who want only to be treated with respect and dignity.

This kind of talk is shocking to many of us in the community, who thought as a society we had moved past that.

The Tribe has called for all Native Americans and minority groups to condemn the actions of those who made the comments. We will take that one step farther: everyone, not just minorities, should condemn and speak out against these types of comments.

These statements aren’t jokes. These statements aren’t funny.

Joe Ross, ACD.net’s public information manager, said the telecommunication firm’s chief executive officer, Kevin Schoen, wants to meet in person with Tribal Chief Steve Pego to discuss “concerns” about the voice mail message. Ross also said Shewchuck did not intend any malice.

We will see how this all plays out.

In the meantime, this is the real “message” that should be left: Racist comments aren’t funny and always unacceptable.